African Union Commission chief & UNOCHA express concern over deteriorating situation in western Sudan

AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION CHIEF Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat said the significant buildup of fighters and weapons in the vicinity of El Fasher, North Darfur poses a grave threat to the lives, property and livelihoods of millions of people and complicates an already-difficult peace-making process.

The AUC chief further called on all Sudanese actors to support the efforts of the AU High Level Panel on Sudan which is trying to convene in the coming days a preparatory process for an all-inclusive Sudan political dialogue. 

On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) expressed concern that the manoeuvring of opposing armed forces in western Sudan is raising tensions, blocking aid to thousands of people and creating a horrifying situation for civilians.

Read full story by Xinhua dated Saturday, 27 April 2024.
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/274317454/au-expresses-concern-over-deteriorating-situation-in-western-sudan

END

Sudan & South Sudan: Adama Dieng appointed as first African Union (AU) special envoy for the prevention of the crime of genocide and other mass atrocities

Report from Human Rights Watch
Dated Tuesday, 23 April 2024 7:15AM EDT - here is a copy in full:

Can New African Union Genocide Envoy Curb Atrocities in Africa?

Adama Dieng has Mandate to ‘Combat the Ideology of Hate’

Click to expand Image

Adama Dieng, then-UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, New York, June 2019. © 2019 Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Adama Dieng has been appointed as the first African Union (AU) special envoy for the prevention of the crime of genocide and other mass atrocities.

Dieng will drive the organization’s agenda to “combat the ideology of hate and genocide on the continent,” said AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. The April 6 appointment could not be more symbolic, marking 30 years since the Rwandan genocide and harkening to the failure of the international community to stop the slaughter.

Dieng has occupied several positions within the United Nations human rights and justice system, including as a registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), then as UN designated expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan. From 2012 to 2020, he was UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, with a mandate to raise the alarm over situations likely to spiral into genocide and mobilize UN security council action to prevent such atrocities.

Dieng’s new appointment comes at a time when Africa is witnessing spates of terrible mass atrocities and serious crimes, with dire humanitarian consequences, and little to no international attention.

April 15 marked the first anniversary of the fast-deteriorating conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). While both parties have committed egregious laws of war violations, the targeted attacks on ethnic non-Arab communities in West Darfur by the RSF and allied militias have evoked the spectre of the horrific Darfur war. That conflict killed 300,000 people in the early 2000s and led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict then-Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.

Government forces in Burkina Faso have carried out mass killings of civilians as part of a brutal campaign to tackle Islamist armed groups, who have also committed serious abuses. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, government forces and armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, have committed atrocities against civilians in violence throughout North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

Atrocities and serious crimes are nevertheless not limited to war time, as illustrated by the October 30, 2022 crackdown on protestors in Chad, when scores of protesters were shot by security forces.

Dieng’s newly created regional mandate could be a timely boost to existing international mechanisms on atrocities prevention if it proves to be an indication of more genuine AU political willingness to end mass abuse and uphold accountability standards.

View original:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/23/can-new-african-union-genocide-envoy-curb-atrocities-africa

END 

AU calls for Ramadan cessation of hostilities in Sudan

AFRICANS should put pressure on leaders of the African Union and IGAD to work harder and faster and do their jobs properly or step aside for others who are able and willing to do a good honest job. Too many Africans are still living in poverty without a right to land ownership and access to the law.

From Xinhu 

By Editor: Huaxia

Dated Saturday, 9 March 2024, 18:54:30 - here is a copy in full:

AU calls for Ramadan cessation of hostilities in Sudan

ADDIS ABABA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has called for the cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the holy month of Ramadan.

The AU Commission chairperson "calls upon Sudanese parties to observe a total cease-fire across the whole national territory throughout the holy month of Ramadan," the AU said in a statement on Friday.

Faki stressed that such a cease-fire during the holy month of Ramadan could help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in need throughout the conflict-torn country.

He urged the warring parties "to shoulder their responsibilities to prevent the serious risk of famine and other humanitarian catastrophes from befalling the Sudanese people and the neighboring states."

Deadly clashes have been going on between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan since April last year.

Amid the continued fighting in different parts of the country, Sudan is now home to the world's largest internal displacement crisis, with 6.3 million people seeking safety within the country since the beginning of the conflict. Another 1.7 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations.

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the holy month of Ramadan.

"A Ramadan cessation of hostilities can help stem the suffering and usher the way to sustainable peace. 

Let us spare no effort to support the people of Sudan in their legitimate aspirations for a peaceful and secure future," said Guterres. 

View original:

http://www.chinaview.cn/20240309/83e35ba2203e458790c3456dd3010964/c.html

END 

AU High-Level Panel on Sudan met dissolved NCP

"In a rare move, the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan met with representatives of the dissolved National Congress Party (NCP) of the former Islamist regime in Cairo on Wednesday.

Over the past two days, the panel also held meetings in Port Sudan with figures including Sudanese Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Popular Congress Party (Shura Council’s wing), and others. 

Meanwhile, the Civil Democratic Forces Coordination Mechanism (“Tagadum”) is expected to meet with the panel in Addis Ababa on Thursday." Read more.

From Sudan Tribune

Dated Wednesday, 6 March 2024 - here is a copy in full:

African Union mechanism meets dissolved Sudanese Islamist party in Cairo

AU HLP- Sudan poses with the NCP delegation on March 6, 2024

March 6, 2024 (CAIRO) – In a rare move, the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan met with representatives of the dissolved National Congress Party (NCP) of the former Islamist regime in Cairo on Wednesday.

This meeting was part of the panel’s ongoing efforts to hold talks with various Sudanese political groups aimed at ending the ongoing conflict.

Sources confirmed to Sudan Tribune that the meeting, held at the Sheraton Hotel, followed similar talks with representatives of the Forces of Freedom and Change – Democratic Bloc.

Over the past two days, the panel also held meetings in Port Sudan with figures including Sudanese Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Popular Congress Party (Shura Council’s wing), and others. 

Meanwhile, the Civil Democratic Forces Coordination Mechanism (“Tagadum”) is expected to meet with the panel in Addis Ababa on Thursday.

The meeting with the NCP delegation, which included party leading members Amira Al-Fadil and Osama Faisal, focused on the Sudanese crisis and potential solutions to the conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023.

However, sources stated that NCP representatives claimed they lacked the mandate to discuss the proposed agenda and advised the panel to meet with the party’s leadership within Sudan.

In August 2023, Yasir Arman, a spokesperson for the Forces for Freedom and Change, criticized potential involvement of the NCP in peace talks, viewing it as rewarding them for past actions.

Tagadum and other pro-democracy forces in Sudan agreed to exclude the National Congress Party (NCP) from the transitional government, as provided in the 2019 Constitutional Declaration. They argue that the NCP, an Islamist group banned after the 2019 revolution, would impede the establishment of a secular state.

The African Union (AU), however, advocates for the NCP’s inclusion, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity in the political process. The AU sees the NCP’s support for the military in its conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a potential entry point for their involvement.

Led by former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, the Tagadum delegation is expected to reiterate its firm opposition to the NCP’s participation in the transitional period.

View original: https://sudantribune.com/article282990/

END 

Sudan: SAF chief urges to restore membership in AU

RESTORING Sudan's membership in the African Union is good news. Africa is the world's second largest continent and contains over 50 countries. 

Report from Xinhua China View
By Editor: Huaxia
Dated Monday, 04 March 2024, 02:56:15 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan's army chief urges for restoring membership in AU

KHARTOUM, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council, stressed on Sunday Sudan's confidence in the African Union (AU), calling for the restoration of Sudan's full membership in the regional organization.

Al-Burhan made the remarks when he received the delegation of the AU High-Level Panel on the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan, led by Mohamed Ibn Chambas, in Port Sudan, the capital city of the Red Sea state, the sovereign council said in a statement.

"Al-Burhan expressed Sudan's confidence in the African Union and the solutions it could offer, provided that Sudan deals with the organization as a full member," the statement said.

Al-Burhan further stressed that the basis of the solution lies in the withdrawal of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from the cities and villages they occupied.

For his part, Ibn Chambas stressed the need to stop the conflict and achieve stability for Sudan and its people, according to the statement.

He pointed to the AU high-level panel's keenness and endeavor to find solutions to the crisis, noting that the panel listened to all Sudanese political forces.

On Jan. 17, the AU announced the formation of a High-Level Panel on the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan. The panel consists of three African figures, including Ibn Chambas as chairman, besides Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe, former vice president of the Republic of Uganda, and Francisco Madeira, former special representative of the chairperson of the Commission to Somalia, as members.

The AU had frozen Sudan's membership after Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021, and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the transitional government which was headed by the then Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 15, 2023. More than 13,000 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to recent estimates released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

Source: http://www.chinaview.cn/africa/20240304/db8052893099462796fae829cb34545b/c.html

END

URGENT MESSAGE to Sir Tim Berners-Lee: The internet belongs to everyone including the Sudanese

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This is a hastily written post, published without any edit and polish. People in Sudan are suffering after decades of war. Now their internet has been shut for several days. It was hard enough for them to keep going during bombings while managing patchy electricity.

In most parts of Sudan, banks, shops, businesses, churches and infrastructure have been destroyed. The Sudanese depend on the internet to receive money for food, medicine, electricity, calls for news and help. 

Brits gave the English language to the world. A Brit, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, invented the World Wide Web and gave it to the world, free of charge. He gifted it for the benefit of everyone instead of becoming a multi-billionaire.

This post is a direct message to Sir Tim to tell him that the internet has, once again, been shut down in Sudan. Right now, after five days "communication networks are still completely out of service throughout Sudan, except for limited terrestrial internet service in very few areas in some states".

In essence, this is an appeal to Sir Tim, the UK, EU and Mr Elon Musk to restore the internet in Sudan. Millions of lives and livelihoods depend on it. The Sudanese people are terrified of what is going on, why and for how long.

Being cut off from the internet is catastrophic for most of them. They fear heavily armed evildoers carrying out abductions and atrocities in secrecy. 

The world could easily bring satellite communications technology to Africa. Mr Musk could not have created Starlink without the work of Sir Tim.

If anyone reading this knows Sir Tim or Mr Musk please pass it on. Thanks. 

I have taken it upon myself to write this urgent appeal because I am blessed to live safely in England, UK where I enjoy freedom of speech, constant electricity and free blogging technology courtesy of, and hosted by, Google.  

Peace and love, Ingrid x 

 _________________________

Related

This photo shows the resilience of Sudanese people. All the walls they built, stone by stone, brick by brick. At night the walls were removed by the Sudanese gov't. Next morning the walls would reappear as a silent protest.

Photo: A brick barricade on a street in east Khartoum on Sun Oct 3, 2021. Credit AFP/Getty Images. Source: Sudan Watch, Nov 01, 2021: 

'Sudan’s PM Hamdok well but under house arrest'

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudans-pm-hamdok-well-but-under-house.html

Photo: Another civilian road block in Khartoum, Sudan. Tyres billow black smoke when set on fire. After walls were removed, residents would dig ditches to block roads in their neighbourhoods to RSF militia vehicles. RSF terrorists often stay in/around homes in residential areas to protect themselves from Sudanese army bombardments, thereby endangering local residents. pic.twitter.com/szkxpJfvEL

Source: Sudan Watch, May 29, 2023: 

'Sudan: Dig ditch instead of making wall to block road!'

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/05/sudan-dig-ditch-instead-of-making-wall.html

Photo: “This barricade cannot be removed, this barricade is being guarded by men behind it” chant these little boys standing behind their barricade today in one the outskirts of the capital city khart #الردة_مستحيلة 

Source: Sudan Watch, Nov 30, 2021: 

'Sudan protest: “This barricade cannot be removed, This barricade is being guarded by men behind it"' https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudan-protest-this-barricade-cannot-be.html

_____________________

HERE is a recent photo from a village in Sudan showing a Starlink satellite receiver atop cardboard boxes with a cable running into war-torn premises.

Source: Cameron Hudson @_hudsonc reposted NabeilShakoor @NabeilShakoor post “Star Link in one of the villages in #النيل_الابيض  #السودان_خارج_التغطية state” 12:24 PM · Feb 10, 2024 https://twitter.com/_hudsonc/status/1756303186661454089

_____________________

Image: Hassan Ahmed Berkia @HassanAhmedBerk, a journalist from Khartoum, Sudan writes today (Feb 10, 2024) on X: “All communication networks are still completely out of service throughout Sudan, except for limited terrestrial internet service in very few areas in some states. #Sudan #Sudan_Blackout #Sudan_Out_Of_Coverage  #Sudan_War_Updates #InternetShutdown 7:03 AM · Feb 10, 2024.”

Source: https://twitter.com/HassanAhmedBerk/status/1756212348346335238

_____________________

Sir 

Tim Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA DFBCS RDI in 2014

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee

___________

Elon Musk FRS in 2022

• Founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX
• CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.
• Owner and CTO of X, formerly Twitter
• President of the Musk Foundation
• Founder of The Boring Company, X Corp., and xAI
• Co-founder of Neuralink, OpenAI, Zip2, and X.com (part of PayPal)
• Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

___________

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by private aerospace company SpaceX,^[3] providing coverage to over 70 countries. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023.^[4]

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

___________

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider, defense contractor and satellite communications company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and ultimately developing a sustainable colony on Mars. The company currently operates the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets along with the Dragon and Starship spacecraft.

The company offers internet service via its Starlink satellites, which became the largest-ever satellite constellation in January 2020 and as of November 2023 comprised more than 5,000 small satellites in orbit.^[7]

^{Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX}

___________

Elon Musk is the second wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$232 billion as of December 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $182.6  billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX.^[5][6][7]

He is a citizen of South Africa, Canada and the United States. A member of the wealthy South African Musk family, Elon was born in Pretoria and briefly attended the University of Pretoria before immigrating to Canada at age 18, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. 

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

___________

Photo: Early Starlink user terminal with dish, as shipped in early 2021.  

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

___________

Photo: Starlink dish on sidewalk of a residential home. 

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

___________

Photo: Starlink WiFi Router

A wireless router or Wi-Fi router is a device that performs the functions of a router and also includes the functions of a wireless access point. It is used to provide access to the Internet or a private computer network. Depending on the manufacturer and model, it can function in a wired local area network, in a wireless-only LAN, or in a mixed wired and wireless network. 

Source:  Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

___________

Photo: This NeXT workstation (a NeXTcube, monitor Cern 57503) was used by Tim Berners-Lee as the first Web server on the World Wide Web. It is shown here as displayed in 2005 at Microcosm, the public science museum at CERN where Berners-Lee was working in 1991 when he invented the Web. The document resting on the keyboard is a copy of "CERN DD/OC March 1989 Information Management: A Proposal. Abstract" which was Berners-Lee's original proposal for the World Wide Web. 

(Further text visible: "...distributed hypertext systems, Hypertext, computer conferencing, document retrieval, information management. Project, IBM Group talk, VAX/Notes, CERNDOC, UUCP News, Hierarchical systems".) 

The partly peeled off label on the cube itself has the following text: "This machine is a server. DO NOT POWER IT DOWN!!" The labels on top of the server and on the keyboard read "PROPRIETE CERN" (French for "Cern property"). 

Just below the keyboard (not shown) is a label which reads: "At the end of the 80s, Tim Berners-Lee (TBL) invented the World Wide Web using this Next computer as the first Web server." The book is the enyclopedia in many parts of Robert Kemp Philp, ed.: "Enquire Within upon Everything", London 1856 and later editions, which TBL describes on page one of his book "Weaving the Web. The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web as "a musty old book of Victorian advice I noticed as a child in my parents' house outside London". 

(Text that is almost legible in the high resolution picture: 750. Diuretics, 756. Diaphoretics, 761. Expectorants, 765. Ginger). 

Text at the beginning of Tim Berners-Lee: Weaving the Web, Chapter 1 Enquire Within upon Everything: "When I first began tinkering with a software program that eventually gave rise to the idea of the World Wide Web, I named it Enquire, short for Enquire Within upon Everything, a musty old book of Victorian advice I noticed as a child in my parents' house outside London. With its title suggestive of magic, the book served as a portal to a world of information, everything from how to remove clothing stains to tips on investing money. Not a perfect analogy for the Web, but a primitive starting point. What that first bit of Enquire code led me to was something much larger, a vision encompassing the decentralized, organic growth of ideas, technology and society. The vision I have for the Web is about anything being potentially connected with anything..." 

This is a new upload by Coolcaesar of the original JPEG file on en:September 22, en:2008 directly to Commons in response to continued vandalism of the original.

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web

___________

Sudan Watch - Nov 10, 2021

Sudan cuts off internet despite court order to restore

Technology & internet accessibility are a human right. Shutting down an entire country for 16 days is a violation of #humanrights and should be recognised as such. I didn’t speak to my mother & family in 16 days. This in 2021. #InternetShutDown #SudanCoup #Amnestyinternational 

[…] Internet remains largely disrupted in #Sudan for a 16th day after a military coup targeted the transitional civilian government. The shutdown is ongoing despite successful legal intervention and court ruling to restore internet service. 

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudan-cuts-off-internet-despite-court.html

___________

Sudan Watch - Nov 10, 2021

Sudanese court orders telcos to restore internet

The US Agency for International Development Mission in Sudan said cuts to internet services were a breach of international law and a “suppression of freedom of speech".

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudanese-court-orders-telcos-to-restore.html

___________

UPDATE on Mon 12 Feb 2024: 

changed italic to non-italic post titles; added spaces in last 3 reports.

END